Denial
by PossumNinja
Summary: Unexplainable murders have been turning up around New York City. Each with a similar connection and each getting more and more gruesome then the last. And yet it all started when Olivia adopted a strange boy with blood red hair.
1. memories

_December 20__th__ 2000_

_Olivia Benson stood stiffly as she watched the SWAT teams searching the area and dragging out the perpetrators from the large, grey orphanage, who were screaming at them to let them go or that they were 'innocent!'. Her frown changed to one of concern as she saw the dozens of children of all ages be lead out of the building in some sort of daze, some huddled together in fear, while other just wondered on in confusion at what was going on. But one caught her eye. Just a small glimpse at a tiny boy a few meters behind everyone else, holding a brown teddy bear. He had ghostly pale skin and blood red hair, but the strangest thing was his black rimmed eyes. Those cold, unforgiving eyes that should never be possessed by a child. Yet as quickly as he had walked passed her, he was already gone._

"_Elliot, did you see all those kids?" Olivia mumbled feeling another headache coming on. She had been up for three days straight working on this case. There were rumors about child abuse in the Sunagakure Orphanage, but no one really took it seriously until they received an anonymous tip about an abused ex-orphan. Elliot's scowl deepened._

"_Yeah, I just hope the son of a bitches who did this rot in prison." He growled in response, glaring darkly at the people being shoved into the police vans. Olivia sighed and rubbed her temples._

"_Hmm I need to talk to some of these kids, I need to-" _

"_You need some sleep Liv, you've been up for days on this case, go home. We'll talk to victims tomorrow. I'll drop you home okay?" Elliot interrupted giving her a look that meant no arguing. She sighed and grudgingly nodded her head in agreement. As she followed her partner to his car she felt a bitter chill go down her spine, in the corner of her eye she caught sight of those same haunting jade eyes, quickly she turned her head stepped into the car closing the door behind her. _

"_You alright Liv?" Olivia turned her head to see if that boy was still there, but he was gone._

"_Yeah… yeah I'm fine."_

_Olivia groaned as she opened the door to the station and slammed it behind her. _

"_Have you started the interrogations yet?" She asked groggily, walking over to her desk and slumping down into her chair. Munch sighed flicking through the files of the perp they had ready in the interrogation room. _

"_No they haven't yet, this Yondaime character seems like a real prick." He grumbled getting up and handing the files to Olivia, who began digging into it. Munch was right this guy was a massive prick. A History of complaints for loud noises in the night, aggression problems, violent tendencies. Yet never enough evidence for an investigation. _

"_Elliot, Olivia your up." Captain said pointing to the door. Elliot gave Olivia a short nod and got up from his chair, grabbing his coffee as he twisted the nob of the door slowly pushing it open. _

_There sat Yodaime. A man in his early forties, with short spiky brown hair and piercing onyx eyes. Anger was written all over his face as he sat uncomfortably on a hard, steel chair with his arms crossed. Elliot smirked and sat down across from Yodaime._

"_So Yodaime is it? Why do you do it huh? You get-What a sick kick out of hitting kids?" Elliot grinned, though the venom in his words clear. Yodaime snarled._

"_Shut your mouth!"_

_Olivia walked up behind Elliot and leaned forward a little, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face._

"_Oh no, they just keep running around never stilling still-" Yodaime cut her off._

"_Shut up!" _

"_They scream! They cry! They never shut up! So you had to make them didn't you? You and the rest of your little friends?"_

"_SHUT UP!" He snarled._

"_YOU beat those children, YOU and the rest of your staff didn't you!"_

"_**SHUT THE FUCK UP!"**__ Yodaime shrieked, slamming his fists down on the table in rage. Elliot remained quiet the whole time staring at Yodaime in disgust. A knock on the door broke the awkward silence as captain stuck his head through the doorway, his hand motioning them to leave. Slowly the two partners made their way through the door, shutting it behind them._

"_He's guilty captain, it's obvious! Did you see his face when I said he had beat them?" Olivia said reaching for a coffee conveniently waiting for her on the desk. Elliot nodded in agreement leaning on a table. _

"_I know, but you still need to interview the victims." Captain Cragen answered, dropping down three files._

"_Elliot I want you to interview a young girl named Hinata, Fin a kid named, um, Shikamaru? and Olivia a boy named Gaara." The three assigned detectives snatched their victim's files off the table and began scanning the pages. Olivia's body froze at the sight of the boy she would be talking to. It was _him_. That tiny little boy she saw yesterday, but framed in a small box on the piece of paper in her hands. _

_**NAME:**__ Gaara no Sabaku _

_**AGE: **__8_

_**GENDER: **__Male_

_**EYE COLOUR: **__Green_

_**SKIN: **__White _

_**RELETIVES: **__Father: Yodaime Kazekage, Mother: Karura no Sabaku, Brother: Kankuro no Sabaku, Sister: Temari no Sabaku._

_She stared at the page in disbelief. 'That freak in there is his father?' Cragen clapped his hands together._

"_Okay get in there." _

_Olivia exhaled deeply and stepped into the small, cramped room she had been in so many times before. _

"_Hey sweetie, mine names Olivia what's yours?" She said giving him a comforting smile as she sat down across from him. The boy looked up at Olivia in confusion and griped his teddy bear even tighter. _

"_Gaara." He said cautiously inching away from her. Olivia frowned inwardly but kept on smiling._

"_It's okay honey, no one's going to hurt you. I just want to ask you some questions, alright?" She said softly waiting for him to answer. Gaara gave a curt nod and stared blankly at her. _

"_Alright, just tell me if you want me to stop okay?" Another nod._

"_Did any one at the orphanage do anything mean to you?" Gaara visibly flinched and looked away, glaring at the floor._

"_They would call me names." He muttered icily. Olivia gave him a sympathetic look._

"_Who would?" _

"_Everyone." _

"_Did anyone try to hurt you when you were there?" Gaara's face froze in terror then twisted into a pain expression, he closed his eyes clutching his head and screamed. Olivia was in the least to say a little bit taken back at Gaara's sudden outburst. Jumping up from her chair she darted over to Gaara wrapping her arms around him, rocking him gently._

"_Shhh it's okay sweetie, calm down no one's going to hurt you any more." She cooed, running her fingers through Gaara's vibrant red hair in a soothing motion until he began to quite down to small whimpers. She almost pulled away when she felt something on the left side of Gaara's forehead. She brushed away some of his hair, careful not disturb him. Her eyes widened at the sight on a tattoo in a foreign language, but after tracing the symbol she realized something that made her skin crawl. It wasn't a tattoo, it was a scar. Olivia frowned and pulled Gaara closer to her._

"_Gaara, if they did anything to you, you need to tell me." Olivia said in a soothing voice. Gaara looked up at her with tied eyes and buried his face in her shoulder, she couldn't help but think they resembled a panda's or a racoon's eyes. _

"_They tried to kill me…so many times," Olivia looked at the large mirror on the wall in horror, knowing that Captain Cragen had been watching the whole time behind the protective shield of glass._

"_For how long?" She whispered into his ear. Gaara hid his face deeper into the crock of Olivia's neck. _

"_Two years…on my sixth birthday." The detective stayed quiet the whole time as she got up to the door, before she left she gave Gaara one last glance._

"_Thank you for your help Gaara." Before closing the door._

_No one seemed to notice the demented smirk on the disturbed little boys face. _

"_Alright people not that I didn't get enough evidence from Olivia's interview to put that bastard away for a least ten years. We still need some more evidence on the others." Alex said walking into the room wearing a black short sleave T-shirt and long dark brown pants. Captain Cargen sat waiting for Elliot and Fin to finish, in no sooner than ten fifteen minutes later they both came out. _

"_That Shikamaru kid has to be the biggest freaking lazy-ass I have ever met." Fin grumbled rubbing his eyes in frustration. _

"_I swear to God he actually fell asleep three times!" Elliot chuckled. _

"_Hm Hinata was a shy little girl, but I think that Hisashi guy has been beating her, I noticed that she keep looking away when I mentioned him and pulling down her sleaves." Captain nodded at them and turned to Olivia who was being unusually quiet._

"_You okay Liv?" Elliot asked. Thank God Cragen decided to answer for her._

"_She had a tough interview, Kid had a bit of mental break down." _

_The rest of the squad nodded knowing how hard it was when a victim had an episode. _

"_Alright you get a confession out of Yodaime and interview some more victims and I'll get a judge." Alex said before adding._

"_That guy's going to need a hell of a good lawyer." _

_**Two months later**_

_Yodaime had been sentenced to 25 years for child abuse and attempted murder._

_Hisashi had been sentenced to 15 years for child abuse and assistance in attempted murder. _

_15 other members of staff at the Sunakgakure Orphanage were sentenced 5-25 years in jail. 15 out of 37. _

_There was a blinding flashing of the press's cameras snapping photo's of Yodaime kazekage being dragged out of court screaming about 'the demon' who was responsible for all this and that every one would pay for their stupidity. The press was swamping him and lawyers with questions._

"_Mister Kazekage! Is it true you tried to murder your own son?"_

"_Yodaime where are your other children!"_

"_Miss Cabot! Is it true that one of the detectives in your agency has adopted one of the victims!" _

"_No comment."_

_Standing outside across from city hall stood was a woman with shoulder length brown hair holding the hand of a tiny little boy with crimson red hair, pale skin, holding brown teddy bear. _

**!IMPORTANT!**

**IF THIS IS NOT REVIEWED OR IT IT'S FLAMED IT WILL BE DISCONTINUED!**

**Flames and reviews that suggest ways to improve are different (I like those ones) **

**P.s If any one finds any spelling and grammar problems just so you know I'm working on getting a beta reader ! **

**!NINJA OUT!****:D**


	2. Gaara's First Day

February 2nd _2002_

_Present day_

Olivia sat uncomfortably in her chair. They had just solved a case and she was relived to have that weight off her mind, but something else was lingering also. Today was Gaara's first day of school. _Real _school. She flicked her pen and sighed, the uneasy feeling never wavering. Olivia knew Gaara did not like people; it became very clear the day she attempted to take him to the circus. The swarms of giggling children and the brightly painted faces of smiling clowns, she could almost still feel how tightly Gaara's small hand had clamped around her leg, his eyes filled with fear and urgency. Needless to say they left before the show started. There was also the problem of how he was almost an elective mute, it took her at least thirteen months for him to talk to her comfortably and in court he almost never said any word with two or more syllables. She chuckled slightly, remembering when the lawyer accused him of being mentally unstable and unfit to testify. The cold, bone-chilling glare he had sent made the grown man cringe and he immediately regrated those words when Gaara had snarled at him to shut up. That was her first and hopefully last brush with Gaara's nightmarish temper.

"Olivia, you alright? You seem distracted," Olivia snapped from her trance and turned to the concerned face of Alex. She sighed and leaned into her chair.

"Nothing much, it's Gaara's first day of school, and you know how he is with people, plus being in victim cancelling and have all the press poking at him…" She drifted off, Alex had meet little Gaara many times, he seemed polite and shy, didn't say a word unless she asked him to answer. He was a bit distant at times and had strange moods but overall was a nice kid.

"I'm sure he'll been fine, you shouldn't worry about it too much. Here I'm going out to get a coffee, the machine here's run out and I'll get you one too okay?" She offered standing up and walking to the door, stoping to take her black blazer off the coat rack and giving Olivia a small smile. "It'll take your mind off things." The tension in Olivia's mind eased slightly at Alex's reassuring words and nodded.

"Thanks Alex, I could use a cup of coffee." She said as Alex closed the door. Olivia groaned slightly and straightened herself in the chair. Still the thought of Gaara going to school terrified her. Elliot looked up from the newspaper he was currently flicking through and gave Olivia a knowing look.

"It's always hard to send them off on their first day Liv," He said folding up the paper and tossing it aside on the desk, catching Munchs attention.

"Hey can I read that? If you're done of course. It's better than the garbage on the internet." He asked, sitting back in his chair typing on the computer. "It may be still filled with the media's trash and poor attempts to fill the minds of the public with made up fantasy-" Fin interrupted him.

"Just give em' the damn newspaper already." He snapped, feeling annoyed at Munch's continuous rants. Elliot chuckled and threw the paper to Munch from across the room who caught it and grumbled a 'thanks'. A small smile found its way onto Olivia's face as she watched the two detectives bicker about something as pointless as a newspaper. With one last sigh Olivia push the nagging feeling out of her mind Gaara could take care of himself.

Gaara was not happy. He remembered when Olivia had dropped him off at the large steel gates, gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and drove away in her black SUV waving goodbye, leaving little Gaara behind to fend for himself. He didn't like people. Olivia knew that, he could see the troubled look on her face when she was told about sending him to school.

The school it's self wasn't bad, a two-story building made from red brick and wood giving it an old fashion yet modern look. He stopped abruptly as a group of children a few years older than him walk past, chatting mindlessly and laughing at their own jokes. Gaara glared at them icily for blocking his path and quietly went around them. He wished Olivia would pick him up soon.

The bell rung noisily and the masses of giggling children swarmed through the doors of the building, Gaara being the only one left in the playground. He stared at the huge open wooden doors a few meters away from him, darkness blocking his view of what was past them. Gaara's body went ridged as he felt a hand gently grasp is shoulder. His head snapped up to see a woman in her early twenties with strawberry blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes smiling down at him.

"Hello sweetie, are you okay?" She spoke in a honey-coated tone. Gaara restrained himself from slapping her hand away and nodded. "Is it your first day?" She said softly noticing the obvious anxiety Gaara was suffering. Gaara nodded again choosing not to answer vocally, he still didn't trust random people, no matter how sweet they may seem. He had learned that the hard way. "Well how about I take you in, okay?" Gaara remained silent and followed the woman into the blackness.

It was official. He _despised _school. The desks were cramped and the surface felt sticky, the children next to him wouldn't stop sniffling or coughing and the teacher was blissfully ignorant of it all. _Snap!_ And now his pencil is broken. Great.

"Gaara are you paying attention?"

"Yes Mrs Selleve," The teacher nodded.

"Well, than can you tell me what 7x8 is?"

"56." Gaara answered simply, not even bothering to look up at her. There were a few snickers from the other kids next to him but were quickly silenced by Mrs Selleve shushing them.

"That's very much correct Gaara, I'm surprised we haven't even done seven times tables yet, very good!" She smiled and continued writing on the white board. Gaara ignored the envious glares he was being sent and kept copying down what Mrs Selleve was saying.

The lunch bell rang through the hallways and classrooms causing the kids to go wild with excitement as the teacher dismissed them. Every one but Gaara sat in their group circles scattered around the playground. He didn't mind through, he didn't want to be apart of a crowd that was filled with obnoxious kids that were too nosey for their own good. No, he sat under the shade of an old tree that seemed to be older than the school itself, quietly eating his lunch in a peaceful silence.

"Hey look, it's the new brat who thinks he's better than any body else!" A voice sneered destroying Gaara's haven. Gaara looked up from his food and glared at the incompetent boy in front of him.

He was rather overweight and had greasy brown hair. His brown eyes held a malicious intent as he took a large step forward, a small group of spectators forming behind him. Gaara blinked as he noticed how tall they were. Probably forth or fifth grade, but than again for his age Gaara was still very short and looked a few years younger, something he begrudgingly accepted a year ago when he saw his reflection in the mirror and even went as far as measuring himself on the wall every day to prove he was getting taller. Unfortunately he never grew more than two inches.

"Do you need something," Gaara spat. The boy chuckled lent down to be face-to-face with Gaara, a nasty smile on his showing his missing teeth.

"I don' know, what do you think pip-squeak?" He taunted grabbing Gaara's lunchbox and tossing it aside. "Come on genius, tell me, what do I need?" Gaara remained emotionless as the boy snapped his fingers in his face. "Helloooooooooo? Earth to _freak?_" That insult made Gaara's eye twitch slightly. His old nick-name brought back many unwelcome memories from the old orphanage, and this brat thinks _he _can just say it to his _face?_

"I bet he's not smart at all! Just retard who copied off someone else!" One of the followers jeered. The fat boy nodded and grasped Gaara's shirt in a weak attempted to intimidate him.

"That must be true. Ya' see, my little brothers in your class he doesn't like being showed up like that and neither do I. Anyone who makes my brother look stupid makes me look stupid, and I don't like looking stupid. Understand?" Gaara snarled inwardly. Getting your siblings to fight for you? Pathetic. But he face remained stoic as the boy smashed his lunchbox ageist the tree and struck him in the face. The crowd behind him cheering the bully on as he repeatedly hit Gaara in the stomach and face, but Gaara never made a sound. His mind absent from his body as he drove deeper into his dark memories until he found the one filled with screams and scarlet.

A few of the smiles on the onlookers faltered as they saw a blood-curdling grin appear on Gaara's face. Some even backed away in fear as he stood up, his eyes psychotic as he glared at the fat boy who dares _touch him! _

"Soon," He whispered, his clenched fists shaking slightly as he walked away, leaving a confused bully and terrified children in his wake. "Oh _so soon!_"

Olivia looked up at the clock on the wall of the station. She sighed in relief. It was time to pick Gaara up from school. She walked to the door, taking her coat of the hook and throwing her empty coffee cup in the bin.

The drive to school seemed to take eternity as she almost sped through several red lights and pedestrian crossings. Finally she made it to the large steel gates and hopped out of the car. There were many children laughing and giggling as their mothers and/or fathers picked them up, but it was quite easy to find a tuff of vibrant red hair among the crowd. Olivia carefully pushed through to get to Gaara. She found him sitting by himself on the school steps staring out at space. She smiled and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Just as she had predicted Gaara's body tensed and his head snapped around to see who was touching him, but his shoulders loosened as he realised whom it was.

"Hey kiddo, come on it's time to go home."

The ride home was filled with an awkward silence. As Olivia drove she noticed the angry bruise on his cheek. Her brows furrowed in concern. "How did that happen?" She questioned. If someone had been bullying Gaara there would be hell to pay. Gaara softly brushed the purple mark with his fingertips.

"I fell." He lied smoothly.

Olivia unlocked the door to their apartment and went inside. She felt a little guilty for sending Gaara to school, but child services insisted that he must or he would be taken from Olivia's care and given to a foster family. She shivered at that thought. She had seen what kind of horrors the system held and Gaara he been through enough already. So to try and make up for it she decided to make Gaara's favourite tonight, salted tongue. It was a very strange thing for an eight year-old to like but Gaara was far from normal and had a taste for salty foods and loathed sweet things.

"I'm making your favourite and how about we watch a movie tonight? That sounds good?" She said taking out the ingredients from random cabinets and pre-heating the oven. Gaara smiled softly at Olivia and nodded going to his room.

It was midnight when Olivia fell into a deep slumber on the coach, Gaara buried under her arms very much awake, the left overs of their food on the coffee table. Olivia had eaten pasta instead as she didn't really fancy eating tongue. The televisions screen flickered in the dark room giving it an eerie atmosphere. The moon in the sky glowing through the window as Gaara slowing chanted to him self.

"_Soon."_

_**That's right my readers, I'm continuing this story! But I won't be able to update in awhile because all the computers in my house have broken chargers. I think it was my pet rats but I'm not pointing fingers. **_

_**Any way, I got 8 reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you all so much, Kimblee Whitehead as soon as I read your review I felt so inspired I started writing right away, Alex awesome as always, Serphiroth, sweetlyadictive, Shiroi, K7, asredwer, Librex I love you all! For all of you I will continue this story! **_


	3. Blood in the Sandpit

_February 4__th__ 2002 _

Olivia smiled at Gaara's sleeping form that was snuggled in nest of blankets and pillows. Asleep he looked like an angel. His messy crimson hair against his pale skin and his face, constantly alert and eyes usually full of paranoia, was calm and peaceful. She sighed in regret knowing she'd have to wake him up. Gently, she nudged his shoulder. Instantly Gaara's eyes snapped open in alarm and shot up from the covers into a sitting position.

"Hey it's okay, it's okay." She said, "Its just me kido, it's just me." Gaara nodded, his shoulders slowly slouching. He yawned rubbing his heavily ringed eyes. Olivia frowned.

"How much sleep did you get?" Gaara held up three fingers. "Nightmares again?" She said unhappily. Gaara simply nodded again. Olivia sighed heavily and sat down next to him. "This has been going on for a year Gaara, you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Gaara's eyes widened and shook his head violently. They lapsed into an awkward silence. "How about you get ready for school, 'kay?"

Not a word was spoken between them as they got dressed and sat at a small wooden table, quietly munching on their cereal. Gaara finished first with still half his bowl of Coco Pops left, Olivia following quickly after.

Gaara's sandy brown backpack with strange symbols and Olivia's black leather handbag were both waiting at the door for them as they left of the small two-bedroom apartment. The car ride wasn't too eventful either. Olivia dropped him off at the gate, gave his a quick hug and went to work.

Gaara glared at the big metal gates that that contained the hellhole called school. That brat and his vulgar sibling had been troubling him every day this week and it was making his six hours of school more miserable. Yet despite this, a dark smile grew on Gaara's face as he wondered into the school grounds.

It had been a rare quiet day at the station. Only a few complaints about petty muggins that had been accidently reported to the wrong unit. Munch had called in sick today and Elliot had to go to a school fun raiser for his daughter, the coffee machine had broken again and Olivia's computer had crashed, which frustrated her to no end as she could no longer entertain herself with the internet. Thankfully, it was time to pick Gaara up from school. She Snatched her handbag off her desk and made her way out the door.

Olivia hummed to the song on the radio as she drove down the street leading the school. Her heart froze when she saw the red and blue flashing of police sirens zoom past her. _Don't turn left, oh please God don't turn left. _Her hopes were torn asthe speeding cars disappeared around the corner. "_Shit._"

Olivia slammed the car door behind her as she walked to the gates, a sick feeling in her gut. There was a crowd of angry and frightened parents arguing with the policemen blocking the entrance. She struggled to break through the shouting people as she attempted to make her way to a rather flustered looking policeman. She flashed her badge at him and ducked under the fluoro yellow tape.

"Special victims?" He questioned in confusion. Olivia nodded and looked at the other policemen conversing in urgent hushed tones.

"What happened here?" She said. The man motioned her to follow him and lead her to the small children's playground. He stopped dead and pointed to were there was a large cluster of men and women.

"Over there, I think you should see it for yourself." He said meekly, going back to his original post at the gate. Olivia's stomached twisted in knots as she walked up to the crime scene. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the grisly murder in front of her.

It was in the sand pit and had or what was left of two boys. One was half buried under the sand; his arm was snapped and bent upwards over his head, dry blood mixed with sand was leaking from his eyes and mouth, which was still open in a silent scream. The other, larger more bulky boy was almost completely submerged in the sand, his face and hands barely visible. His fingers were broken and twisted in random directions, his eyes were still wide with fear and terror as if the murder was still there.

Olivia shifted uncomfortably. She had seen some of the most horrendous acts committed by mankind but this was something else. She could almost feel the resentment and hatred the killer had felt in the air. It was almost suffocating. Than the familiar guilt crashed over her. _Why wasn't she there? This was Gaara's school, what if she could have gotten here sooner? Would these innocent children still be alive?_ She roughly shook her head. Right now all she could do was catch the perp. Then it hit her.

_Gaara!_

She turned to a detective who was jotting down notes on a piece of paper. He was a tall lean man with sparkling green eyes and gelled back black hair. He glanced up noticing a pair of eyes on him. He flashed a wary smile at Olivia and stopped writing.

"Awful ain't it? I've seen some pretty gruesome murders before, well what detective hasn't? But this…just feels different, more personal." Olivia nodded grimly in agreement.

"Any one call special victims? When a child's involved it'd our business." The homicide detective hummed.

"Call em' please. I'll be right back, I just need to find someone." The man didn't answer, just went back to his notes.

Olivia jogged up the stairs of the school to the hall where the kids were being questioned. Each grade was siting in a neat line, the children fidgeting and struggling to keep their mouths shut. A few policemen were picking out anyone who had given any useful answers and integrated them privately on the side. She spotted Gaara sitting cross-legged at the back of the year two line.

His face void of all emotion as he stared at the wall. He seemed to be mumbling something under his breath, before his eyes widened a fraction and his fingers dug into the wooden floorboards.

Olivia gut clenched painfully in panic and she rushed over to him. Gaara looked almost as if he was hyperventilating, his face scrunched up in fear and his eyes closed so tightly it hurt. After what felt like an eternity, Olivia reached Gaara and threw her arms around him. Gaara's face instantly calmed as he knew who it was and his eyes flickered open to gaze up at his adoptive mother with large jade orbs.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?" She said, soothingly rubbing circles on Gaara's back. Gaara said nothing, only nuzzled his head deeper into Olivia embrace. Olivia had lived with the odd boy long enough to understand his silent messages, and if he didn't want to tell her something it was wise to leave it alone. "Come on, let's go. But you know I have to ask you the standard questions," Gaara nodded, he knew the drill. "Okay, did you know the boys?"

"Yes,"

"How?"

"One was in my class, I think his name was Jack. The other is his older brother; I believe his name was Max. He was the school bully." Olivia's brows creased, that narrowed down the suspects considerably.

"Did he ever hurt you?" Gaara paused for a moment.

"Once," he lied. "But he didn't bother me after that."

Olivia growled inwardly. She knew something was up when Gaara had came home with that bruise on his cheek. She didn't know and may never know if there were any more, Gaara was a very private person. She gave him a reassuring smile and lead outside, avoiding the crime scene.

She stopped when she saw the homicide detective from earlier walk over to her, the same nervous grin on his face.

"I called the SVU, they're sending a squad over, they should be here in a couple minutes." He said, peering down at Gaara. "Who's this little tyke?" He chirped bending down to get better look. Gaara glared and hid behind Olivia's leg. The detective chuckled. "Shy hm? I was shy too when I was younger. By the way," He said, turning his attention back to Olivia. "My names Detective Koren, well you can call me Peter," He glanced down at Gaara to make sure he wasn't listening. "Strange, how it feels like the killers still here, watching us." He said, looking down to see Gaara's unblinking eyes boring holes into him. Olivia didn't reply, though knew what he meant exactly. The murders presentence still lingered here.

"Just make sure you thoroughly search the area." She said firmly. Peter nodded. The doors to the school swung open releasing the children, policemen ushering them out the gate far away from the bodies and to their parents. "Have you called the boys mother and father?" Peters grin died away.

"Yes, my partners breaking the news to them." They had Olivia's sympathies, no matter how many cases she had worked on where a kid got killed it never got easier to tell the parents. She sighed and took Gaara back to the car, so much for a quiet day. She opened the cars door, helping Gaara onto the passengers seat and closing it gently behind him.

The car engine vibrated as Olivia waited at the red light. She wanted to get Gaara safe at home and get back to the station as soon as possible. She groaned as a large group of pedestrians walked across the road delaying her longer. Gaara remained taciturn, his eyes transfixed outside his window following an invisible being. Olivia noticed this and asked.

"What are you looking at?" She said, a small grin tugging at her lips. Gaara's gaze flickered over to her for a moment before staring outside the window again.

"Shukaku," He whispered. Olivia tilted her head in confusion.

"Who's Shukaku?" She said tentatively. A rare smile appeared on Gaara's face.

"He's outside, over there," He said, pointing to an empty playground. The playground was covered in graffiti, the once alive and vibrant equipment, was dull and faded. A single rusted swing was gently swaying to the breeze. Gaara's smile grew. "He's happy. He's waving to us, don't you see him?" He spoke in an absentminded tone. An unnerving feeling settled in the pit of Olivia stomach as she struggled to keep herself composed.

"Really?" She said, her voice wavering. "What else is he doing?" Gaara giggled. It was a bittersweet sound, one that would haunt Olivia for years to come.

"He's on the swing. He's waving to us with a big smile on his face… It's kind of scary his smile," Gaara said his grin flattering slightly.

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"His teeth, they frighten me and he smiles when he's angry too." Gaara said frowning. "But I like him when he's happy, he helps me sleep." Olivia swallowed thickly. _It's perfectly normal for children to have imaginary friends. And if he's-it's helping Gaara sleep it must be good. _She thought firmly.

"Well tell Shukaku to help you sleep tonight, you've been pulling way to many all nighters." She said with forced humour. Gaara nodded.

"He should, he's happy today," He reassured, eyes drifting back to the swing set. "But his eyes scare me the most." He murmured too quietly for Olivia to hear.

The drive became tense and apprehensive. Gaara gazing distantly out the window and Olivia trying to distract herself by focusing completely on the road.

Dinner was fast and pacey, or 'easy tea' as Olivia called it. A bowl of instant noddles, with an extra strong mug of coffee for Olivia and a glass of milk for Gaara. She tucked Gaara into bed, throwing his multiple doonas and sheets over his small form. She lent down and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'll be home in the morning Gaara, I have to go to work okay?" Gaara hummed in affirmation, his eyes drooping. Olivia chuckled and ruffled his red hair. "Goodnight Gaara." She said before flicking off the light and closing the door, plunging the room into darkness.

The whole apartment went still and silent as a grave. In the last room on the right a small voice whispered.

"Goodnight Shukaku…"

_**Hello my readers! Don't you just HATE it when you just finish writing a chapter, your so happy you've done it, you update and feel great about it! BUT THEN you re-read it on FanFicton and there's a mistake. So now there's always that one mistake laughing at you when ever you read it… **_

_**But anyways…I didn't get as many reviews last time, oh well! But I still want more please! I don't mind if you're anonymous or have an account I just love reviews! **_

_**P.s I got a new charger so that's good news! Also I wanted the bag to have Gaara gourds symbols if anyone noticed. Hmmm Shukaku…. **_

_** Please don't flame!**_

_**!Ninja out! **_

_**:D**_


	4. Mirrors

Rain slowly tricked down the window of Gaara's lonely room. School had been shut down temporally until further notice, not that Gaara was complaining, but it left him with almost nothing to do in the apartment. He had already skimmed the Internet, read four books and even flicked through some of Olivia's magazines. There was nothing good on television; everyone was talking about the mysterious 'Sand-Pit Murders.' Gaara's lip twitched slightly. '_Oh well, perhaps I could draw.'_

"Agh! I burned my tongue," Olivia bit angrily, glaring at her coffee with distaste. She had been working all night, again. It's not that she wasn't used to it by now, but with Gaara home alone and just after two kids were killed at his school, she felt that he needed _someone _there with him. Lightly blowing her coffee and taking a small sip Olivia decided. Tomorrow Gaara was getting a baby-sitter.

Suddenly the door to the station swung open, revealing a very a tired and very irritated Elliot Stabler. He groaned miserably and strolled over to his chair. "Bad morning?" Olivia asked with fake cheerfulness spinning around to face him.

"Bad _week_," He grunted, plopping down into his chair. "I mean first Kathleen started this fight about her going out to this party at her friends_ friends _house who she doesn't even _know_ and than she drags her mother into it which just caused even _more_-"

"And now we have another case on our hands." Olivia said cutting him off mid-rant, racking her hair back. Elliot sighed rubbing his eyes, a deep frown on his face.

"Yeah, I know."

Olivia's frown increased when Cragen walked into the room, his eyes cold with his usual scowl.

"Elliot, Liv get down to forensics, ask if the killer left any prints, Munch and Finn get down to the school, ask around to see if there were any shady characters have been hanging around the playground. Get going!"

"So there are no prints at all?" Olivia asked in disbelief. Melinda shook her head.

"There _are _prints, just _too_ many prints," She sighed. "It's almost worse than a motel room, hundreds maybe thousands of prints are on that sand-pit." Elliot's shoulders slouched in defeat.

"Do you have anything for us?" He asked. The forensic nodded, pulling her latex gloves off with a _snap_. She strode behind her desk and bent down to rummage through her draws, finally taking out a small stack of photographs, spreading them out for the detectives.

"Look here, the bones weren't broken they were _crushed, _it would take an _enormous_ amount of pressure to do this," She said pointing to the x-ray. "The older brother was worse than the younger. His entire ribcage was shattered, as well as his arms and legs, the other only his lower half. But the strange thing was that the killer was _very_ careful not to severely damage any vital organs."

"You mean they were still _alive_ when he did this?" Olivia choked. Melinda nodded grimly.

"What was odd when I cut them open, was that their lungs were full of sand." Elliot thought for a moment.

"Isn't possible that when they were buried they breathed in the sand, like drowning?" Melinda frowned.

"I thought that too, but than I took a look at their throats," She browsed through the photos, picking one up and handing it to Elliot. "It looked like they had swallowed a cheese grater," Elliot glanced down at picture with disgust, giving back to the forensic.

"What does that mean?" He questioned.

"It means that they didn't swallow the sand like you would if you were drowning, it was _forced_ down."

Gaara giggled as bounced up and down on the bed. Olivia would be coming home soon! His loneliness and boredom would end! He laughed loudly as he did on final high jump before flopping down, his arms and legs spread out wide. He stopped hearing low menacing growl from underneath his bed. Gaara's smile grew as he crawled to the edge of the bed and hung his head over.

"What are you doing under there?" He said innocently, his red hair dangling in the air. The growls became low clicks and rumbles, purring slightly as Gaara's small hand reached out to search the darkness under the bed. His nose crinkled in disgust as his fingers brushed over something gooey. "I'll need to clean that later… now where are you," He mumbled, wiping the sticky substance on the floor as he kept feeling around until he touched something cold. He grinned in triumph as he snatched the strange object and held it up to his face. It was a mirror. "There you are."

Olivia sighed miserably as she sat in the terrible traffic, the soft rhythm of rain echoing inside the car. The second worst thing in New York, after the crime, was traffic. Moaning Olivia banged her head against the steering wheel, this was ridiculous! The rain had caused an accident, a four-car pile up and three people seriously injured, not that she wasn't concerned about them, but damn it they had clogged up seven blocks and it was beginning to get on her nerves.

She yawned tiredly as she leaned back into her chair. They had been running around all day, questioning suspects, running background checks on all the teachers, having to talk to the parents…Olivia cringed. They were a wreck, the mother burst into tears as soon as see saw them at the door and the father would snap at them every time they spoke. It was truly an awful day. Glancing out the window Olivia froze at what she saw. It was the playground.

_Can't you see him?_

Gaara's voice giggled in her head. Olivia's skin pricked, her eyes darting to the passenger seat. It felt as if someone was watching her. She shook her head chuckling nervously; the stress was really getting to her wasn't it? Suddenly Olivia gasped and began coughing violently, her face consorted to one of complete horror. There was some_thing_ in the backseat. Her whole body froze as she stared at the rear-vision mirror. The shape stared back, it's yellow eyes observing her carefully, daring her to turn and face it. Olivia's world was a blur as she spun around, only to see there was nothing there. No monstrous shadow and no glaring yellow eyes. Olivia sighed, her heart still racing, _defiantly_ too much stress.

Gaara stared at the bathroom mirror, watching his reflection intensely. How long had he been staring? A few seconds? Minutes? _Hours_? He couldn't remember. How did he get here? Gaara's brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to think of what lead him here; it was like putting together a puzzle with missing pieces. Gingerly Gaara touched the cool glass. His reflections eyes flashed darkly, leaning closer. Gaara blinked and drew his hand back, before noticing the difference in the room. When did he turn the lights off? Hoping down from the stool, Gaara sniffed slightly, looking down at his shoes. Gaara paused. _When did I put on shoes?_ Looking himself, Gaara noticed he was wearing completely different clothes. Running his hand through his _wet_ hair, Gaara padded to his room. The whole apartment was pitch black, the curtains drawn and everything turned off. A small knowing smile appeared on Gaara's face as he disappeared into his room.

The door to the apartment flung open as Olivia practically ran inside.

"Gaara! I'm home!" She called, dropping her handbag on the floor. "Why are the lights off?" She said flicking the switch, intently lighting up the room. "Ah that's better." Olivia smiled and peeked around the corner. "Gaara, where are you?" She chirped wondering into the lounge room.

"Olivia?" A small voice whispered almost inaudibly. Olivia jumped in surprise.

"Gaara you scared me," Olivia breathed, looking over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Gaara said sheepishly, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Olivia sighed rubbing her forehead.

"It's fine, come on I better get dinner ready, but I've had a really long day and I'm totally exhausted," Gaara looked completely crest fallen. Guilt washed over Olivia when she saw those sad jade eyes. "Hey, I'm so sorry I was late, there was accident and the roads where blocked up because of the rain and…"

"I know." Gaara said, his previous sadness long forgotten. Olivia exhaled, relived.

"I think I should start dinner than huh?" She grinned, Gaara nodded twiddling his fingers.

The two ate in a comfortable silence, slurping their noddles while watching the new series of Doctor Who.

"How did he get the sonic screw driver?" Gaara asked swishing around the yellowy water in his bowl. Olivia shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe it was magic, after all he is the _Doctor_." Olivia said cheekily, rubbing Gaara head, much to his annoyance.

"Mmmm!" Gaara moaned pushing her hand away. "Will you be here tomorrow?" He asked hopefully, Olivia shifted uncomfortably.

"Gaara…I need to talk to you about something,"

"What?"

"Lets wait till the morning."

_**Finally**_** I finished! I'm sorry it's shorter than the other chapters, but I really have to work on my other stories…anyways I hope you liked this chapter please review! **

**Now to answer some questions!**

_**SweeterThanChocolate: **__I'm glad you liked my story! Also I'm happy you asked about Naruto, yes he will be in this story. What kind of Naruto crossover would this be if I didn't have the yellow haired hyper active manic? But he won't come in for a while and their demons…well you'll just have to wait and see!_

_**K7:**__ Yes there will be more Shikamaru. _

_**asredwer: **__I'm not totally sure how to answer this without giving anything away, but some people will have abilities that aren't normal. _

_**Thank you all for reviewing I'll try to update soon! **_


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